GRR Reviews Declan (Blackthorne Brothers Book 1) by Amanda Torrey

Declan is the first book in the series, and has a lot of world-building to do. As a result, the characters were left a bit thin, and relied on the "enemies to lovers" trope. It also left a lot of the big mysteries hanging for the other books in the series.

Declan and his brothers are back on the farm where the family got its start. They each made a name for themselves, but they hadn't been back for eight years. News of their father's disappearance brought them all back... Only to encounter mystery upon mystery. Why were vegan activists protesting their organic dairy farm? Who was the intruder with a camera that stalked their barns? What do their stepmother and stepsister have to do with everything? What really happened to their father, as there are signs of foul play? As Declan deal with the camera stalker, who turned out to be Rylee, the protest leader, they can't help but feel some intense chemistry between the two, but with them on separate sides of dairy industry issue, is there any room for love?

This book, as the start of a series, has to leave a lot of big mysteries unsolved. Though I admire the way the "enemies to lovers" angle was handled. It actually does make some sort of sense. I do feel the characters, however, just falling for each other is a bit on the insta-lust trope.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Man back to run the family ranch falls for the vegan protest leader who stalked the barns looking for signs of animal abuse

Tropes: ranch, stalker, enemies to lovers, conspiracy, insta-lust

Overall Rating:  3/5